


Iteration

by ShinySherlock ficlets (ShinySherlock)



Series: assorted tumblr ficlets [42]
Category: Sherlock (TV)
Genre: Gen, Implied/Referenced Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Orphans, Parenthood, Siblings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-13
Updated: 2014-05-13
Packaged: 2018-01-24 13:32:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 716
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1606928
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShinySherlock/pseuds/ShinySherlock%20ficlets
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Third of three ficlets for Mother's Day: John tells Harry she's going to be an aunt.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Iteration

“Well. This is a turn-up.” Harry opens her door the rest of the way. “I’m sober and you’re pissed.”

“Pfft,” says John.

Harry stands aside and John comes in. He takes three wobbly steps and lands, sprawled, on the sofa. Letting him stew a moment, she closes the door, grabs a bottle of water from the fridge, walks the long way round to the sitting room before plopping down cross-legged next to him.

“Didn’t you get married or something?”

Despite being drunk, he manages to glare well enough. “Bad form, not showing up.”

She rolls her eyes. “Oh, come on, Johnny.” She takes a swig of water and swallows. “You know I don’t do ‘Happy Ever After’.”

He lets out a long sigh of suffering, and Harry knows what’s coming before he says it. John channels their mother in so many ways that Harry’s almost surprised when the words come out in his voice rather than hers. “You don’t even _try_ , Harry.”

She narrows her eyes at him. “D’you come over here just to criticize me?”

John frowns and blinks at her for longer than he normally would before answering. “No. I have news.”

Harry waits. Takes another sip.

“Mary’s pregnant.”

“That was fast.”

Harry doesn’t turn away from the glare this time either.

“You’re going to be an aunt,” John tries again.

“I think you’re missing the point there, Johnny.” She waggles a finger at him. “ _You’re_ going to be a father.”

Eyes going comically wide for an instant, John shudders and drops his head, and Harry realizes he’s laughing silently. He stills after a moment and looks up, staring at the wall opposite the sofa.

“I can’t fuck this up.”

“You will.”

“Hey!” He sits up straighter and his heads whips around to face her.

Harry rolls her eyes. “That’s what parents _do_.”

John huffs out a breath and turns away again, sinking back into the sofa. “I don’t know why the fuck I came over here.”

Happy--and surprised to find herself so--that he didn’t just up and leave, Harry punches his arm lightly. “Relax. You can’t possibly fuck up as much as mum and dad did.”

John nods. “Yeah. Dad was . . .”

There is no good way to end that sentence. She saves him from trying. “Yeah.”

John makes his duck face and tries to grin at her. “Mum wasn’t so bad.”

This earns him a raised eyebrow. “To _you_ , maybe.”

The grin disappears, and he shakes his head. “You made it hard, Harry. You make everything hard.”

“No, I just made you look good by comparison.” She scrubs roughly through his sandy hair with the fingers of her free hand. “Mum’s golden boy.”

He ducks away and she withdraws her hand. “You’re welcome,” she says as she hides behind another sip from the water bottle.

They sit in silence for a minute, two, and Harry knows what John’s doing, because she is doing the same--running from memory to memory, trying to find one to hold up, one to point to and say _This. This was all right._

“She might’ve made a good grandmother.” His voice is weak before he ends the sentence, and she takes pity on him.

“Maybe.”

John’s shoulders slump, his face falls, and Harry recognizes the signs of an impending morose funk.

“This child will have no grandmothers.”

“No,” Harry says, and this time her hand along his arm is gentle. “But it’ll have a crazy lush of an aunt to run to when its mum and dad fuck up.”

It works. He splutters and giggles and she pats his shoulder.  

“Come on,” she says, standing up. She settles a couple of cushions against the arm of the sofa. “You can sleep it off here.”

“No--”

“Oh, stop. I’m enjoying the role reversal.”

He’s close to agreeing, and when she gives him a little shove he goes over easily, rolling onto his side and tucking his legs up. His eyes are already closed.

“--Mary--”

“I’ll text her.”

And with that, he’s out. He breathes deeply, in and out, and the sound of it fills the flat.

Harry pulls the blanket down from the back of the sofa and shakes it open. Lays it over him. Lets her fingers ghost over his golden hair as she walks away.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! Comments always appreciated. <3  
> (And if you're looking for more to read, I made a [fic index](http://shinysherlock.tumblr.com/post/105509221665) of my stuff by category which I hope is helpful.)


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